Conservative Party Conference 2011: don’t rule out a fat tax, says David Cameron

A “FAT tax” to reduce levels of obesity could be introduced, David Cameron has
said.

The Prime Minister said the new tax might be necessary to curb soaring health costs and falling life expectancyPhoto: GETTY

By Holly Watt

9:15PM BST 04 Oct 2011

The Prime Minister said the new tax might be necessary to curb soaring health costs and falling life expectancy.

Denmark recently became the first country in the world to impose a surcharge on foods that contain more than 2.3 per cent saturated fat. The levy targets high-fat products such as butter, milk, cheese, pizza, meat, oil and processed food.

Mr Cameron told the Conservative conference that a similar move should not be ruled out in the UK.

“I think it is something that we should look at,” he said in an interview with Five Live. “The problem in the past when people have looked at using the tax system in this way is the impact it can have on people on low incomes. But frankly, do we have a problem with the growing level of obesity? Yes.

“I am worried about the costs to the health service, the fact that some people are going to have shorter lives than their parents.”

Mr Cameron said obesity was now on the verge of overtaking smoking and drinking as the “biggest health challenge”. “Don’t rule anything out, but let’s look at the evidence and let’s look at the impact on families,” he said.

The Danish government introduced a tax of 16 kroner (£1.85) per kilogram of saturated fat in a product, meaning that the price of a small pack of butter will rise by the equivalent of 25p, while an average burger will cost around 9p more. It is expected to raise almost 2.2 billion Danish kroner for the government.

Danish consumers have criticised the step, with retailers complaining about excessive bureaucracy and some scientists claiming that saturated fat may be the wrong target. They say salt, sugar and refined carbohydrates are more detrimental and should be tackled instead.

Meanwhile, Mr Cameron was accused yesterday of “twisting” leading doctors’ words in a “disingenuous” attempt to claim that they support controversial NHS reforms.

After 400 public health experts wrote to The Daily Telegraph calling for the Health and Social Care Bill to be scrapped, the Prime Minister said that they actually supported part of the legislation, citing a line in their open letter to peers which welcomed closer working between local government and the NHS.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Cameron said: “When you look at the letter itself, it actually praises the part of the Bill that’s about public health. Because we’re saying public health — smoking cessation, diet, dealing with things like diabetes — these are incredibly important and they welcome that part of the Bill.”

But the letter, signed by prominent doctors and academics went on to claim that “the proposed reforms will disrupt, fragment and weaken the country’s public health capabilities”.

The organisers of the letter said they were “shocked” by the way the Prime Minister took their words out of context.

Dr David McCoy, of University College London, added: “The Prime Minister is disingenuous to claim that the letter praises the Bill. It couldn’t offer a more stark repudiation.”